Seven soups every Saturday: barley soup recipes
Today is the 5th National Soup Swap, and I hope you're going to a swap party. For my own swap next weekend (swaps can take place at any time of year), fifteen soup lovers have signed on, so there's sure to be a great selection. I hope at least one brings a barley soup, because here in New England we're having the perfect cold, snowy, dark weather for it. Barley's high starch content makes it a natural thickener, giving body to soup without the need for cream or cornstarch. From a nutritional standpoint, barley contributes a whopping dose of dietary fiber, more than oatmeal, brown rice or prunes (and, really, who wants to eat prune soup?). My favorite barley soup pairs the grain with earthy cremini mushrooms, and just enough soy sauce to bring out the umami. Hmmm, maybe that's what I'll make for Soup Swap.
Seven barley soup recipes caught my eye this week:
Mushroom barley soup with miso and kale, from TasteFood
Vegetarian porcini barley soup, from Chez Us
Split pea and barley soup, from Cook's Hideout
Beef, wild mushroom and barley soup in the Crockpot, from No Fear Entertaining
Lemon, summer squash and barley soup, from The Taste Space
Chicken and barley soup, from Guilty Kitchen
Goose broth with barley, from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
Find more delicious barley soup recipes with Food Blog Search. Come back every Saturday for seven soup recipes to enjoy any day of the week.
I have a question -- and apologize if the comment box is not the way to ask it. When you list the seven soups every Saturday, you say they "caught your eye". Are they all soups you have tried? Do you know the cooks behind them? Do they just "sound good"? What is the basis for your listing/recommending them?
SCL, the soups I list every Saturday are recipes that I've found that I'd like to try, and that I think Soup Chick readers would like, too. Sometimes I know the cooks, but I also try to look around for recipes from bloggers who are new to me (and possibly new to you, too). Each week the recipes are focused around a particular theme or ingredient. I hope this is a fun way for all of us to discover new recipes together. If I've made a soup I particularly recommend, I'm likely to do a blog post about it, and will always tell you the source if it's not one of my own recipes.
PS, comments and questions that don't relate to a specific post on the blog would be perfect for our Facebook page.
I always look forward to your soup roundups Lydia. Funny, as I am actually making mushroom barley soup this Monday for a group of seniors. They requested it! I use soy sauce and cremini mushrooms too, as well as dried porcini mushrooms and some tomato paste to give it extra umami.
I had been thinking that barley would make the perfect soup for our daily snow delivery season, and here they are -- and one yesterday that sounds good too.
Barley is really one of my very favorite soup ingredients, so I'm always looking for new ways to use it!
Yeah! barley soups. Thanks so much.
Jeannette, I love the use of dried porcinis in mushroom soups, and tomato paste definitely deepens the flavor. I hope the seniors love your soup!
Susan, barley soups are what my grandmother used to call "stick to your ribs" soups. Perfect for our New England winters.
Kalyn, same here. I love it, it's economical, and it's adaptable.
Melynda, you're so welcome.
Hey I took a picture of soup bowls!!!
Once again, another awesome sounding soup for Soup Swap! I think I am fixated on your Armenian Lentil Soup.. as the Armenian delis in Watertown, MA were one of my favorite haunts during my brief stint out in Boston and something I've never seen in Seattle area.
Thanks for posting so many great recipes! Looking forward to hearing how your own Soup Swap goes next weekend! Except, of course, I already know it's going to be awesome, since it's about the easiest "party" to throw and everyone is thrilled to leave with so many great soups!
Pam, can't wait to see!
Knox, thanks for giving us all the great idea of Soup Swap. Our swap is next weekend, and there are many people coming who are new to Soup Swap. I'm looking forward to trying some new soups and sharing them here on Soup Chick over the next few weeks.
I love barley, particularly in hearty winter soups. The "Beef, wild mushroom and barley soup in the Crockpot" is right up my alley. I have a few odd scraps of beef in the freezer that will be perfect for this recipe.
Thanks for the fantastic recipe round up Soup Chick!
Thanks so much for the link. I love your soup spirit!
I hosted a soup swap last week. It was our "trial" run with 4 attendees. Holding another one in February with 9 already RSVPing yes!